Grain is ordinarily stored in large, vertically extending bins until sold for processing. Within the system of grain distribution, the farmer may have several small bins to provide limited storage for a single year's crop, so that it can be sold at price advantageous times. Grain does not tend to remain in these storage bins for long and may be sold at the time of harvest, or within a relatively short period thereafter, to a country elevator. The typical country elevator is located along a rail line in the small towns or cities that serve the farmer. Grain is trucked to the country elevator and conveyed into the storage bins. The country elevator often has only minimal storage capability and consists of less than ten bins, each of which is normally between sixty to one hundred and thirty feet high. Depending upon the availability of railroad cars, river barges or other suitable means of large scale surface transportation, grain is taken from the county elevator to a terminal elevator where it remains until sold.
The typical terminal elevator operation consists of ten or more large vertical bins and may store over a million bushels of grain for several years until sold for processing. Because of the extreme value of this grain inventory, the quality of the grain must be carefully monitored. The typical terminal elevator operation utilizes temperature and moisture monitoring systems and takes such careful steps to control rodent and insect populations, that with a well run elevator, the presence of rodents is uncommon. For insects and mold, the situation becomes more complex. For mold or fungi problems, the bin must be emptied and circulated to an empty bin through a series of bottom conveyors, lift conveyors and top conveyors, sampled by hand and visually inspected.
For insect infestation, the situation is the same. If insects are noted, then the usual course of action has been to transfer the grain to another bin and while the grain is being transferred, to inspect it, and as the grain is being deposited in the second bin, intermix fumigant material with it.
The cost of moving the grain, that is, emptying the bin and putting the grain into another bin, is expensive and when figuring labor costs, wear and tear on equipment, and the costs of electrical energy, the present cost to move the grain is $1,000.00 to $1,500.00, depending upon the bin capacity. Attempts have been made previously to construct probes to sample the grain in the bins, rather than moving the grain, when problems are suspected or for regular inspection. Sampling devices have previously been made in the form of augers which employ a tube with external flytes designed to screw into a body of grain and with an internal auger designed to bring the grain to the surface for inspection. This type of device has generally proven to be unsatisfactory, for the system is subject to frequent failures and the device may be only able to extend to thirty to forty feet at best.
The present invention is designed to provide a deep probe which may extend down as much as eighty to one hundred and thirty feet, or to the depth of the highest known elevators. The instant drill and probe mechanism is effective in extending down deep into the bin at a selected depth and removing a sample for inspection from that depth. Various probes can be connected to the end of the drill mechanism whereby not only can a sample be retrieved, but fumigant pellets or granules can be dispensed at the selected depth and the probe and drill mechanism removed. Although this invention is not foreseen to entirely negate the necessity for moving the grain from bin to bin, it is foreseen that this invention will significantly reduce the frequency at which grain is moved, as the major problems of sampling can be accomplished while the grain is in the bin.